? Choose compact, multipurpose furniture, but don’t scrimp on key pieces, such as a roomy armchair for reading and TV viewing.

? Invest in a good bed. The bedstead might be an antique, but the mattress should be state-of-the-art.

The 1,000-square-foot house, built in the early 1920s, was big on charm but small on space. So, the couple added a large living room, kitchen and dining room.

“But we still had just the one bedroom,” said Linda Kuhn, who is Sanford’s mayor.

To accommodate houseguests, they decided to convert a rundown shack in the backyard into a guest cottage.

It was stripped down to its frame. The floors, doors and windows were replaced, and the plumbing and wiring were upgraded. The main room would house a living/dining area with kitchen on one side, a sleeping area with bathroom on the other side.

For the interior decor, Kuhn wanted to create a cozy retreat with all the mod-cons while retaining “the feel of the historic district.” To help achieve her goal, she hired Mickey Searcy, owner of Interiors by Lawrence David in Sanford.

“Linda gravitates toward clean lines and a light, airy look. She likes to incorporate the old with the new,” said Searcy. “We decided on a lot of white — paint, linens, furniture — with green, chocolate and silver accents.”

They reupholstered a rocking chair that had been a favorite of Kuhn’s father, and filled a curio cabinet with linens crocheted by her mother. They hid the TV in a whitewashed armoire, hung gauzy white curtains over the windows and added several table lamps to cast a warm glow.

The original front door was converted into a headboard for the double bed. And in the kitchen, the original sink was fitted into a new custom-built cabinet, and a small metal table was installed to function as a coffee bar.

Now there is only one drawback: The cottage is so charming, guests might never want to leave.

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